Reducing energy consumption everyone's responsibility

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Justin Osgood
  • 35th Civil Engineering Squadron
MISAWA AB, Japan --  In order for Misawa to meet the Energy Policy Act of 2005 goal for fiscal year 2007 we will need to reduce our energy consumption by 1.4 percent. The policy act affects the entire federal government.

That may not sound like much, but to make it happen it will take everyone on base being smarter about their energy consumption. Here are some ideas on how you can help Misawa meet its energy conservation goals while getting in the holiday spirit.

-- Use new L.E.D. (light emitting diode) holiday light strands. These lights use 90 percent less electricity over traditional bulbs, and generate less heat making them safer. They also last on average 100,000 times longer then traditional bulbs.

-- Reducing your display by one to three strands can reduce energy consumption with little difference.

-- Put your lights on a timer to avoid forgetting to turn them off. At work, lights should be turned off at the end of the duty day. In housing, lights should be turned off during the day and during quite hours. Turning them off a little early is another great way to save some energy.

-- Plan your holiday cooking to avoid having to reheat the oven.

-- If you're going to purchase an artificial tree consider a fiber optic model. These trees use a single light to create the same effect as several strands of lights.

-- Purchase appliances that have the energy star label for appliances. They use less energy.

These are just some of the many ways that you can use less energy this holiday season, and with everyone's help we can keep Misawa on track to meet the Energy Policy Act of 2005 goal for reduced energy consumption. It is not only fiscally responsible, but environmentally responsible and the right thing to do.